[davel]

Can you have the right forearm on plane at address and still grip the club in the fingers by adjusting elbow bend? The folding of the right elbow in the backswing and the left wrist cocking in a natural manner seem to favor a gtip in the fingers and not in the palm. Natural Golfers tend to use the palms and in mine and most peoples experience there is a dramatic loss in distance.

Dave

It is true that most PGA TOUR players (past and present) do not set up with a perfectly On Plane Right Forearm. Most are close, but some are miles away.

I have written on this subject several times previously, especially the Address and Impact relationships of the Axis (Spine) Tilt (as effected by the Hip Turn), the Right Shoulder Location and the amount of Right Elbow Bend. These relationships determine the player's ability to position the Right Forearm On Plane. The wisdom to do so is something else again.

At bottom, it is very natural to stand to the Ball with both Shoulders at about the same level and both Arms reasonably straight and both Forearms pointing well inside the Plane Line. That "precision" is encouraged by the frequent instruction to "let the Arms hang freely" at Address. In other words, it is Position Golf -- not Alignment Golf -- in full flower. And even at the PGA TOUR level, it is, quoting Homer Kelley, "habit executing its ignorance."

Regarding John Riegger, I had the recent privilege of playing 18 holes with him at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. I haven't seen the V1 sequence you reference, but I can tell you that on that particular day, John set up with his Right Forearm as On Plane as is humanly possible...

On every one of his 64 shots.